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Chennai: This year turned out to be a year of records for the state school education department. A total of 198 Class 10 students secured the top three ranks in the board examination held in April this year, 29,905 students scored centum in Maths, 38,154 scored full marks in Science and 19,680 secured 100 out of 100 in Social Science. Besides this, the State School Education Department decided to regulate schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The overall pass percentage in Class 10 increased to 89 per cent, an increase of 2.8 per cent over last year.

KOLKATA: Ishita Jalan is pursuing her Masters in Chemistry from Manchester University. But, even a decade ago, she could not differentiate easily between similar looking alphabets and numbers. Ishita's hand-eye coordination, the coordinated control of hand and eye movements, was next to impossible. She was suffering from dyslexia. Her life, however, took a u-turn when she was sent to the United States by her mother at the age of nine. She learnt new techniques to tackle her 'special' condition and overcome the problem. handicap with alphabets and numbers.

The UPA government will substantially raise funding for a school-to-PhD level national scholarship programme for minorities, committing Rs. 10,000 crore over the next four years, as it tries to ratchet up its minority agenda ahead of the general elections. The Cabinet approved the allocation after discussions took place between the K. Rahman Khan-led minority affairs ministry, the Planning Commission and the Prime Minister’s Office.

TURA: The small town of Tura is all set to keep its date with differently-abled persons on International Day for Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday next. People from all walks of life will assemble to celebrate the day and brainstorm on "How to create a barrier-free environment for the disabled." "The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities, in collaboration with the district administration and the office of the district social welfare officer, West Garo Hills, will organize Badhte Kadam-V in Tura.

Eight-year-old V. Manohar, who has cerebral palsy, is happiest when at school. He is a student of class 3 at the Government Kannada School, Old Byappanahalli. His mother, Anjali B.M., says there has been a remarkable change in his motor abilities after two years of formal education. “Although he is mostly bound to the wheelchair, he now walks a few steps,” she says. But, Ms. Anjali’s only grouse is that her son has not seen much improvement academically. “He cannot even identify letters,” she says.

While the government may celebrate implementing Right to Education and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, ‘exclusionary and discriminatory’ practices are still prevalent in schools in some states which poses a greater threat to long-term education policies and reforms. A study commissioned by ministry of human resources development, conducted in six states — Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Rajasthan — has revealed widespread ‘discrimination and exclusion’ on the basis of caste, community and gender, with Rajasthan being one of the worst hit.

KOTTAYAM: An Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) has been sanctioned to Kerala, which will be set up in Thalanadu panchayat in Kottayam. Around 10 acres has been identified and reported to the Centre, said Jose K Mani, MP. This will be the third Ekalavya Model School in the state, the other two being in Idukki and Wayanad. The schools were initiated by the ministry of tribal affairs, government of India for providing free high-quality education to meritorious tribal children. These schools are set up with grants from the Centre.

PUNE: City-based Jnana Prabodhini Prashala, whose officials had written to the state government earlier this year urging it to include the school in the 'specified category' under the Central Board of Secondary Education, have been waiting for a reply. The administration had applied in March saying that the school be included in the category because they are imparting experimental education to people with disabilities and students with high intelligent quotient level.

PUNE: Schools can now claim their reimbursements online for admissions given under the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act's 25% reservation scheme for children from the economically weaker section of the society. The Pune zilla parishad has created a special website, and schools can fill up reimbursement forms online in the next two days to claim the amount from the state. The reimbursement was increased to Rs 15,000 per student this year from the earlier sum of Rs 10,000.

A private school in Ahmedabad denied admission to a five-year-old girl allegedly on the ground that she is a Muslim, the child's mother complained to district education officials on Thursday. Zaheera Momin, in her complaint filed with Ahmedabad District Education Officer M K Rawal, alleged that R H Kapadia New High School denied admission to her daughter for being a Muslim. The education authorities have ordered an inquiry and a probe team will visit the school on Friday.